


The Dragon and the Knight

by Daidairo



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: F/M, Fantasy AU, for lonashipping week on tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-13
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2019-06-09 23:22:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15278460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daidairo/pseuds/Daidairo
Summary: A dragon had been savaging the towns and villages near the Western Mountains. The king sent a single knight to deal with it, but when Lady Moon entered the dragon's lair, she was met by an unexpected sight.





	The Dragon and the Knight

The outer cave was fairly large, dry and rocky, and completely empty. Moon had expected to see a few bones, at least, or smell rotting carcasses. But she knew she had found her quarry when she spotted several faint footprints in the shallow sand on the ground. Suspiciously shaped footprints, each one about three feet long, leading towards a hole on the right wall.

Quietly, with one hand on the sword at her waist, Moon moved towards the tunnel, stepping as noiselessly as she could. The air was fresher in here; still no rotting meat, but rather, a faint smell of dried grass. Bright light shone from the other end. Breathing lightly and evenly, Moon crept to the edge of the wall and peeked out.

Books. The cave was filled with several wooden bookshelves, each one crammed full of books. No one ever mentioned that dragons collected books, Moon thought bemusedly as she continued to look around. Part of the ceiling was exposed, letting in rays of gentle sunlight. Along one side of the cave was a huge pile of dried bracken, and...

_Flip._

Moon blinked. There was someone sitting on the bracken, back to her. A human with yellow hair, dressed in plain leather, reading a thick book.

_A prisoner, or a slave, perhaps?_ Moon wondered. She hadn't heard of dragons taking humans as slaves, but nonetheless, it was her duty as a knight to save this person from danger. She stepped into the cave.

"Hey! You there!" she whispered.

The person whipped round at once. He was a young man, around Moon's age, or perhaps a year or two older. He glared at her with deep green eyes and an expression of complete annoyance.  
  
"Get out," he ordered. No doubt he feared repercussions from the dragon.

"Don't worry, I'm here to help," Moon said soothingly. "I'm Lady Moon, a Knight of the Celadon Court, sent here by order of the King to deal with the dread dragon that's been plaguing this land."

"I said, get out." The man stood up, dropping his book. "You're not welcome here."

_Those words again._ Taking a deep breath, Moon smiled.

"Come with me. I can save you from the dragon," she said. "But we should leave now, before it   
returns---"

"I am the dragon."

Silence.

"You're... what?"

"You heard me. Now get out of here."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Moon laughed. "Dragons are fearsome winged beasts who breathe fire and eat a whole sheep in one mouthful. You can't be a---"

For the second time, Moon was cut off midspeech by the young man. Except he was no longer a young man, but a large, eight-foot tall black dragon with crimson wings. A golden mane flowed from its crown to its tail, which ended in several long spikes. Large grey scales covered its underbelly, and silver claws glittered on every limb.

The dragon roared at her, revealing rows of sharp pointed teeth. Its breath was hot, dry, and smelled of sulphur, Moon thought hazily, as she gazed at it from the gap between her arms, which she had thrown up instinctively the moment it opened its mouth.

_It's all right, Moon, all your armour and clothes have been dipped in fireflower sap. You're safe from his flames as long as you're careful!_

Whipping her shield off her back, she slid her sword from its sheath.

"I am Lady Moon, Knight of the Dusk, from the thirteenth platoon of the Royal Army, and I am here by the order of the King of Celadon!" Moon declared. "You will either leave this land, or face me in mortal combat!"

It was the type of challenge that she was trained to issue to a recreant knight, though she wasn't sure if dragons even cared about such things. The dragon roared again, then charged at her. Moon parried its swiping claws with her shield, twisting to the side to dodge it. Thank goodness she'd had the good sense not to dress in full armour; the dragon was fast, very fast, and she needed all the agility she could get.

_"A dragon has but two main weaknesses. One, the pollen of the dragonsbane plant, and two, the scaleless flesh underneath its forearms, or beneath its tail."_

Moon parried the dragon's claws again, and drove her sword towards the unprotected area under the opposite arm. But the dragon's tail swung up and smashed into her side, thrusting her into the bracken pile. Spitting out bits of bracken, Moon struggled to her feet, wincing slightly at the pain.

"Faster, Moon," she muttered. Then she was dashing forward, diving underneath the dragon's swipes, dodging its spiny tail, trying not to get knocked down by its wings. Finally, she saw an opening, and rolled under its foot to slash at the underside of its tail.

Suddenly, something slammed against Moon's sword arm, knocking her flat to the ground. A large grey wolfhound stood over her, jaws clenched around her arm. Moon couldn't feel its fangs digging in, thanks to the thick leather gauntlets she wore, but she couldn't move her sword, either. She pulled out her dagger from its hidden sheath with her free hand.

"Enough, Silvally!"

And then the pressure on her body eased. The dragon had turned back into his human form. He held the large dog back, soothing the frantic animal with gentle strokes.

"A dragon with a pet dog? Now I've really seen it all." Moon tried to remain focused on her task, but she couldn't help feeling rather nonplussed. The dragon was a shapeshifter. The dragon collected books (how did he get so many, anyway? Were they stolen from the villages he attacked?). The dragon kept a big dog as a pet. From all she had learned about dragons, she would have thought that the only use a dragon would have for a dog was as a tasty snack.

Were dragons truly the mindless, ferocious monsters they were said to be? It was difficult to imagine this one as having less sentience than a regular human when he looked like one. But if they were actually aware of themselves, of what they had done...

"What are you here for?" The dragon demanded. "I don't recall doing anything to provoke an attack like this."

"Oh, I see. You don't recall the three villages and two towns you visited, I suppose?" Moon said. "The livestock you stole, the people you slaughtered, the fields and homes you burnt? Do these ring a bell in that callous head of yours?"

The dragon frowned. "And what makes you think I did all that?"

"Eyewitnesses saw you! Survivors from the tragedy you wrought!" Moon said angrily. "They described a black and red dragon with wings. Are you telling me there's another black and red dragon around here?"

"Yes."

"Exact--- wait. What?"

The dragon shrugged his shoulders. "Many of us from the Aether tribe are black and red in colour. You haven't any proof that I was the one responsible for all that."

"Nor do you have any proof that it _wasn't_ you!"

The dragon sighed. "Fine. We'll find the proof."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Moon asked.

"We'll visit the ruined villages you spoke of, and look for signs of the dragon that attacked. Footprints, claw marks, scorch marks," the dragon replied.

An investigation. It made sense, but... "Why are you asking this of me?" Moon asked suspiciously. The dragon snorted.

"Because I'd rather not die under your sword, which is surprisingly swift for a human, nor do I want to leave this mountain, and if I kill you here, they're just going to send twenty more up to avenge you, which is a damned nuisance," he said bluntly.

Moon squashed the urge to laugh at his tone of voice. "How do I know this isn't just a ploy of yours?"

"You don't."

Moon considered. The cave was a great battleground, because there wasn't quite enough space for the dragon to fly. Outside, with the open skies available, he wouldn't be such an easy target.

_But what if he's really innocent...?_

"All right. But I have one condition," she said. He gestured for her to speak.

"If you transform back into your original without warning, I'm going to cut you down."

"Fair enough."

\------

Three hours later, they reached the foot of the mountain. Moon refused to let the dragon fly them down, because she didn't trust him not to drop her to her death. He shrugged, but didn't insist, so they walked down in absolute silence.

Apart from the dog, Silvally. Once he understood that Moon was no longer trying to stab his owner, he capered around her, barking happily, inviting her to play. He was adorable, Moon thought wistfully, and she would have given in to temptation if she hadn't felt the need to stay on her guard in case the dragon tried anything funny.

Silvally rolled onto his back in front of her, pedalling his paws in the air, and Moon nearly tripped over him.

"Silvally! Stop bothering Moon," the dragon said. The dog leapt up and ran straight to his master, jumping up at him. As the dragon bent to rub his ears, Moon could have sworn she heard him whisper, "You traitor."

Moon pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. _Remember, he's a_ dragon. "You have the advantage of my name, but I don't know yours."

"You're the one who announced it yourself. I didn't ask for it."

"Maybe, but unless you want everyone else we meet to attack you with pitchforks, you'll have to give me something to call you instead of 'hey, you, dragon'."

The dragon scowled. "Call me Gladion."

Moon raised an eyebrow. "Gladion? Like the flower gladiolus? What kind of name is that?"

"About as great a name as Moon, I'd say," he shot back. "They named you after a glowing rock in the sky?"

"Hey, at least the glowing rock is useful at night," Moon retorted. "While flowers are considerably useless. Pretty, but useless."

Gladion rolled his eyes and walked on, throwing a stick for Silvally. Moon grinned. Score one to her.

\---

After picking up Moon's horse, Deci, from the fence where Moon had left her, they followed the Ula River towards Iki Village. When evening fell, they stopped to set up camp. At least, Moon set up camp, untacking Deci and unpacking some food from her saddlebags.

Uncertainly, Moon had offered Gladion dinner as well, but he shook his head and said he'd find his own food. He and Silvally disappeared into the forest nearby, and Moon wondered if they would just return to their cave without her.

_I'll just have to climb that mountain again, that's all,_ she thought, placing her tiny kettle on the fire she lit.

As Moon pulled out a few dry biscuits from a tin, a very excited Silvally leapt onto her, wagging his tail and trying to eat her entire hand.

"Ow, stop, Silvally, _no!_ " Moon yelped, trying to push him away. She dropped the biscuits and he dived for them. "You, boy, are a total glutton."

"He goes crazy for anything baked," Gladion remarked, emerging from the trees. Moon stiffened as she watched him, but he simply sat down by the fire across her. Silvally swallowed the last of her biscuits and then dashed over to him. She watched his face as he stroked his dog; his expression was relaxed, even gentle, as he reproached Silvally for his bad manners.

"And you? What do you eat?" Moon asked. Gladion glanced at her.

"Not humans, if that's what you're asking," he said. Moon felt her cheeks redden; he had read her mind so easily. He smirked. "You people don't taste any good, and you're a pain to deal with, so we'd much rather go for deer, bear, or sheep."

"Which you steal from villages," Moon said.

"Which I trade from villages. Or hunt from the mountain forests," Gladion corrected.

"Trade? What with?"

"Fruits from the mountains. Eggs from the chickens I keep. Sometimes fur from the animals I hunt."

"You keep chickens?"

"They came wandering into my cave one day. I fed them a bit, and they stayed," Gladion said. "Weren't too happy when Silvally showed up, though. Right, boy?" Silvally, lying across his feet, barked at the sound of his name.

It all sounded like the life of a normal hunter-gatherer, rather than that of a dragon. Dragons were said to make their home mostly at the top of the Northern and Western Mountains. Yet this one was living alone in a cave halfway down. Moon wondered why, especially since he had mentioned having a tribe.

"Do the other dragons live like you?"

He shook his head. "Why bother flying down to trade, when there's sufficient food and meat up in the mountains?"

"If there was sufficient food up there, there wouldn't be a need to fly down and steal animals from the villages," Moon retorted. Gladion looked up at her.

"Rogue dragons," he said after a pause.

"Rogue? You mean, like outcasts?"

Gladion nodded. "Those who have broken the rules are sometimes exiled from tribes by the tribe leader. Often, it's due to their savage behaviour, lack of empathy, and unwillingness to live in peace."

"So... You're suggesting that the real culprit behind the destruction in Fuchsia is a rogue dragon," Moon said slowly.

"Yes."

"What makes you think so?"

"You spoke of burnt fields. Unlike what you humans seem to believe, flaming isn't a regular attack option for us, it's a last resort. It overheats us, to the point where we could die if we kept breathing fire endlessly," Gladion replied. "Only those who have lost all sense would risk doing that for no other reason than to terrorize humans."

That would explain why Gladion hadn't flamed at her even once during their battle in the cave.

"What about you?" she asked suddenly. "Are you an outcast from your tribe, too?"

Gladion smiled humourlessly. "I wasn't exiled. I chose to leave," he said.

"Why?"

"Family problems. That's all I'm going to say."

Family problems. It was such a... _human_... notion. But if everything Gladion had said was true, then the dragons were nothing like the mindless wild beasts that everyone thought they were.

_Except the rogue ones,_ Moon thought, taking the kettle off the fire and putting in tea leaves. Silvally came bounding over at once, sniffing curiously.

"You've never smelt tea before, hmm? I doubt you'd like the taste, though." Moon poured a little into her bowl, then held it out. Silvally sniffed, licked it, then gave Moon a completely disgusted face as he staggered backwards.

Gladion laughed. It was the first time she heard him laugh, and Moon found herself staring at him.

"She did warn you," Gladion said. Silvally curled up beside him, tucking his nose underneath one paw and closing his eyes.

"Get some sleep, buddy." Gladion patted him, then glanced at Moon. "You should turn in too."

"I... uh... didn't... I'm not tired."

"Worried I might kill you in your sleep?" he said sardonically.

"Can you blame me for that?" Moon said dryly. Gladion lifted Silvally and carried him over to her. Dumping the big dog on her lap, he retreated back to his side of the fire.

"There. I can't burn you or step on you without hurting Silvally. Now you can sleep in peace."

"A dog hostage? That's your idea of a guarantee?" Silvally licked her face, then curled himself up again.

"Well, if you won't sleep, Lady Knight, I will." Gladion lay down with his back to her, and curled up like Silvally.

He didn't transform. Either he was really confident that, even in human form, he could stop Moon before her sword hit him, or...

Moon wrapped her arms around Silvally and closed her eyes.

\----

After four hours of walking, they reached Iki Village. It looked little better than when Moon had seen it five days ago. The burnt bodies of men and animals had been removed from the streets, but the remnants of houses still remained where they were. Most of the buildings in the village had been constructed from wood and straw, which had burned easily in the dragon's fire. The stone village hall alone had not fallen into debris, but its walls were scorched and blackened.

Temporary shelters of cloth and wood had been set up in every empty corner, with pallets of straw spread beneath them. Most of the villagers were clearing out the burnt timbers from their houses, but Moon spotted a few carrying water and food into the hall, where the injured lay.

Silvally whined softly, and Moon glanced over at Gladion. His face was hidden by falling hair as he bent over to stroke his dog.

"Lady Moon!"

Moon turned to see the village head's wife running towards her, a large pan of bread in her arms.

"Mistress Mao," she greeted.

"Have you returned with news from the Baron? Will they be sending help for us?" Mao asked hopefully.

"Baron Radney has promised to send food and building materials to all affected villages and towns," Moon said reassuringly. Mao breathed a sigh of relief.

"At least there's something for us to look forward to," she said. "And the dragon? Any sign of it?"

"I'm... working on it. In fact, I'm here to see if I can find some clues as to where the dragon might be hiding. Do you mind if my... assistant and I... look around the village?" Moon said.

"Of course, my lady. Let us know if you need anything from us!" Mao curtsied to them, then excused herself and walked briskly into the hall.

Moon watched her go. The supplies should have arrived two days ago, she thought ruefully.

"I thought you were exaggerating."

Moon turned to Gladion. He was staring at a young girl, her legs wrapped in bandages, limping across the road.   
  
"Exaggerating?"

"Humans often do." Gladion took a deep breath. "I didn't think..."

He trailed off, but Moon heard the unspoken words. _I didn't think things were this bad._

"Can you figure out who did this?" she asked. "And where to find him?"

Gladion walked over to the town hall. Moon followed, leading Deci along. Gladion touched the claw marks left on the door.

"Four. It's a female," he muttered.

"What?"

"Female dragons have four front toes on each limb. Males have three."

Silvally gave a short bark, scraping at the ground. Moon bent down, and saw something black lodged between the cobblestones of the path. She plucked at it, but it was stuck fast between the stones. Pulling out her dagger, she pried it out. It was a round shell, curved, with a red tip on one end.

"Is this... a scale?" she said. Gladion took it from her.

"The Xurki tribe," he said. "They come from the Western Mountains as well."

"You're certain?" Moon asked.

"I don't know how good your memory is, but my scales are all pointed at one end. And they're not red tipped. Only the skin of my wings is red. This scale belongs to a dragon from the Xurki tribe. Not one of the Aether." He handed the scale back to Moon.

Moon closed her eyes for a moment. This, then, was proof that Gladion was innocent. She gripped the scale tightly, and opened her mouth to apologize, but when she opened her eyes, Gladion was gone.

"Wait! Where---Gladion!" She spotted him walking towards the east exit of the village with Silvally at his heels. Grabbing Deci's reins, she ran after him.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"To find the rogue."

"But she could be hiding anywhere! How would you even find her?"

Gladion stopped.

"I don't know," he said finally. "But I can't just---"

The thundering of hoofbeats sounded behind them, and they turned to see a team of knights riding up the road. At the head of the team rode a heavily armoured knight upon a magnificent black battlehorse. He stopped several paces away from them, and his posse followed suit. Tipping back the visor on his helmet, he eyed the shield on Moon's back.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I am Lady Moon, from the thirteenth platoon of the Celadon Army." Moon inclined her head.

"Sir Filbert, of the Noble House of Exeter, Knight of the Great Eagle, head of the first platoon of the Fuchsian Guard," the knight announced grandly, indicating the knights behind him.

"Sir Filbert...? I believe the Baron mentioned that you were in journeying in Saffron and wouldn't be back for a few months."

Moon remembered how Baron Radney had called him the best at his court, and lamented the fact that he wasn't around to kill the dragon. None of the other few knights at the Fuchsian Court had dared to ride out against such a difficult foe, which was why the Baron had written to the King.

"As you can see, I've returned early. And now that I'm here, my knights and I can deal with any foul dragons that may be lurking around, so we have no need for the services of the famous Dusk Knight," Sir Filbert smiled patronizingly at them. "So you and your squire can just ride back to Celadon and continue spending your time winning little tourneys, hmmm?"

"With all due respect, Sir Filbert, the king ordered me to..." Moon began. Sir Filbert slammed his visor down with a snap.

"Run home, peasant. You don't know what you're up against," he sneered. He ordered his men on, and they trotted off, kicking up a storm of dust in their wake.

"That," Gladion said, watching them go, "is one arrogant knight."

Moon smiled.

"He's not the only one. Nobles are all like that. Well, most of them." Clicking to Deci, she rummaged in her saddlebags. "They don't think much of knights born of common blood. Because they start training for knighthood when they're five, and we only get a chance when we're ten, if at all."

"So they think you lack ability."

"Yes. Most of them think we shouldn't even get the chance to be knighted at all." Moon pulled out a map and spread it open on the ground. "Even the Baron was disappointed that the king sent me alone."

Silvally snuffled at one corner of the map, and Moon pushed him away absently. "The rogue's attacked these places so far." Pulling out a stick of charcoal, she circled five locations on the map, including Iki. "Do you think we could anticipate where she might strike next?"

Gladion bent down next to her. "You know these places better than I do."

"Not very well, but... wait. They're all... They all lie along the Ula River," Moon said thoughtfully. "The villages beside the smaller rivers and streams, they're all untouched so far."

"That would explain why she's able to flame so much," Gladion said. "With a large river nearby, she can dive straight in to cool her body afterwards. How long has it been since the last attack?"

"Iki was last struck nearly a week ago."

"Then it shouldn't be too long before she appears again. Here, or here." Gladion pointed at two possible locations on the map.

"Kila, to the north, and Hoku, in the south. What do you think?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

\---

They ended up heading towards Kila, a prosperous castle town situated closer to the Western Mountains. It was likely that the rogue was still living somewhere on the mountain, and would clear out the closer targets before flying further. Again, they set up camp on the outskirts of a forest near the town. Gladion and Silvally went hunting, while Moon entered Kila to give warning of a possible attack.

"I don't think Lord Valen believed me, though," Moon said wryly, pouring herself a cup of tea. "He seemed to think that the word of a knight with less than a year's experience wasn't worth listening to."

"Why do you even bother working for pompous fools like that?" Gladion asked.

"I'm not working for him, I'm working for Baron Radney. Or rather, the king."

"You said earlier that the Baron was disappointed in you."

"Well... yes. I think he was expecting a whole platoon, not just me." Moon admitted.

"And the reason the king sent you instead of that whole platoon?" Gladion said.

"He had faith that I could handle one big scary dragon alone, I suppose?" Moon said cheerily.

"That, or you were dispensable."

Moon winced. After a few seconds of silence, she spoke. "That's probably the truth, yes."

"Why did you become a knight?"

Moon put her cup on the ground before her. It had been seven years of hard work, training and studying, trying to catch up with the nobles of her age. Slowly, she climbed up the ranks, winning tournaments in the capital and the surrounding towns, achieving excellent grades in all her subjects, until she finally graduated at the top of her class.

She remembered the disbelieving glances of the aristocrats at her knighting ceremony, the cold looks from her peers. The bored face of the king when he tapped her shoulders with the royal sword.

"When I was seven, my parents died trying to protect our town from a large group of bandits," Moon said. "A knight from the Celadon Court came to save us. Sir Red, the King's own Champion. He drove off the bandits, and saved the rest of us. Even helped us rebuild the town while we were waiting for reinforcements from the barony. When the Baron rode in to thank him, he said that he was doing it for the people. For us.

"I do it for Mistress Mao," Moon continued. "For the people of Iki Village. For all the other people who can't defend themselves."

"So you see yourself as the people's Champion."

Moon laughed. "I don't have such ambitions, really. All I want is for everyone in the kingdom of Celadon to live in peace. Everyone, even the nobles and the aristocrats, because, no matter how much of an arrogant ass they are, they don't deserve to roasted to death."

Gladion stared at her in silence for a few seconds.

"I can't decide if you're kind, or merely a fool," he said at last.

Moon grinned. "Perhaps a bit of both?"

\---

"Moon, wake up!"

Someone grabbed her shoulder and jerked her upright. Moon awoke with a jolt, and she rubbed her eyes blearily. Dawn had barely broken, and the sky was pink and orange with the rays of the rising sun.

"What's going...?"

"Look!" Gladion pointed to a black silhouette in the sky, growing steadily smaller.

"What is th--- the rogue dragon?!"

"We were wrong," Gladion said grimly. "She's headed the other way."

"Blast it!" Moon grabbed her sword and belted it around her, then swung her shield onto her back. "Quick, help me saddle Deci! We'll have to ride toge---"

"There's no time," Gladion grabbed her arm. "Moon, we'll have to fly."

"What?!"

Without another word, Gladion stepped back and transformed. The dragon crouched down, bending his massive head low.

There was no time for thinking. Moon ran over and vaulted onto Gladion's shoulders, swinging her leg awkwardly over his neck. As she twisted her hands into his mane, Gladion spread his wings, then sprang upwards into the sky, leaving Silvally barking up at them.

Flying was terrifying. Moon tried to keep her eyes open, locked onto the rogue dragon flying ahead of them, but the sharp, strong wind in her face made it almost impossible. Each time she squinted downwards, she was reminded that the only thing between her and certain death was her grip on Gladion's mane, and she held on so tightly her fingers felt like they were going to break.

But they were gaining on the rogue. She was black from head to tail, but her scales shone a faint red with each ray of light that hit them. As Moon watched, she spread her wings out and swooped towards the ground.

The fields of Hoku were right before them, and the grazing cattle scattered in alarm, bellowing in fear as the dragon landed. She chomped down on a cow, crushing it instantly to death. Defenders came rushing out of the nearby barn houses, a few at a time, shouting the alarm and grabbing whatever weapons they could find.

Moon felt Gladion's wing muscles shift beneath her.

"Wait, Gladion! If we go in there now, they're going to fire upon us too!" she yelled as loudly as she could. Gladion hesitated, then dived to the left, plunging down into the thicket of trees nearby. Branches broke beneath them as they crashed onto the grass, sending up a flurry of leaves. Moon released her hold and slid awkwardly to the ground.

"Stay here!" she shouted. Pulling her shield into position, she drew her sword and ran.

A few dogs were herding the animals out of the pens, towards the relative safety of barns and buildings, but majority of the people present circled the dragon, yelling and clashing their makeshift weapons. Some were armed with spears, swords and shields, but many more were holding knives, pitchforks, rakes and large pans.

Moon ran as quickly as she could, but as she watched, one of the spearmen managed to stab the dragon with a well-placed strike just as the dragon raised her arm to slash at him. She roared in pain, staggering backwards. Then she opened her jaws.

"Run! All of you!" Moon cried. "She's going to flame!!"

Either the people heard her, or they realised what the smoke from the dragon's open mouth meant. In any case, they scattered, fleeing towards the village with their shields behind them.

Moon ran straight up to the dragon. Crouching low, she leapt upwards as the dragon released her fire, left hand supporting the blade of her sword like a staff. The force was just enough to smack the rogue's head upwards, and her flames shot harmlessly into the air above them.

The rogue grabbed the spear shaft sticking out from her body and broke it, tossing the wood away. She opened her mouth again, and this time, Moon raised her shield to cover her face, charging forward through the incoming flames. She could feel the heat from the fire around her legs, but thanks to the fireflower sap, the leather and steel of her clothes and armour did not burn.

Smashing her shield into the belly of the rogue, Moon caught the dragon's downswiping claws with her sword. The force behind those claws was devastating. Swinging her body to the side, Moon released her hold on the sword at the same time. Caught by surprise, the dragon stumbled forward with her own momentum. Moon slipped her dagger free and thrust it up into the open wound next to the spearhead.

The dragon screeched and collapsed, crashing to the grass. Moon blinked the sweat from her eyes, and stood staring at her, uncertain if it was over. Was that enough to kill her? Or was she merely incapacitated?

And then something crashed into her from behind, sending her flying to the other end of the field. Moon groaned as she struggled to stand. The ground shook beneath her as something landed heavily behind her.

It was another dragon. Red tipped black scales, a gigantic wingspan, an obviously damaged tail with half its spines missing.

It had a partner, Moon thought in horror, scrambling to her feet. Her sword and shield were both out of reach, lying next to the female rogue. All she had on her were a few throwing knives, which were nowhere near powerful enough to penetrate the dragon's hide. If she could distract it, and run for her weapons....

The male dragon roared at her, then swiped at her with its claws. Moon dodged, only to have its tail smash into her legs. She stumbled to the ground, and the dragon opened its mouth to flame.

Then Gladion dove from the sky, his sharp claws raking into the rogue's back. The dragon howled, and twisted around to flame. Gladion dodged and landed, releasing a series of hisses and crackles. The rogue roared defiance, and charged at him.

Moon ran for her sword. But the moment her fingers closed around the handle, the female dragon opened its eyes and mouth. Moon rolled at once, reaching desperately for her fallen shield as she curled into a ball, trying to keep her head and face tucked in.

As the flames engulfed her, she was dimly aware of the thundering of hoofbeats approaching. A clanging of metal, the whinnies of horses, and the sound of human voices.

"Throw the dragonsbane!" A loud, commanding voice cried. Moon looked up, just in time to see an armoured knight fling a small sack of brownish-red powder over the female dragon. Her screams were louder and more piercing than anything Moon had ever heard from her before.

Each speck of dragonsbane pollen burned every scale it landed on, melting them slowly. The dragon writhed in agony on the ground as Sir Filbert rode up to her and drove his heavy spear right through her heart.

"Again!" he ordered. Moon's eyes widened. She jumped to her feet and ran towards the edge of the field where Gladion and the male rogue were clawing and biting at each other. The thud of hoofbeats sounded behind her, heralding the approach of another knight armed with dragonsbane.

The knight pulled open the mouth of the small sack, and flung it at the dragons. Moon leapt right into its path, spreading herself as wide as she could. Small as the sack was, it carried enough dragonsbane to reach past Moon and her shield, and the two dragons roared as they burned.

The knights sent up a cheer of triumph as Sir Filbert rode up to the male rogue, who was stumbling closer to him. His horse wheeled around and kicked the dragon twice, sending it crashing to the ground. Sir Filbert lifted his spear and stabbed it several times, until it stopped moving. Then he turned to Gladion.

Only to find Moon standing before him.

"Get out of the way, girl," he ordered.

"No. This one is mine," she said.

"Yours?" Sir Filbert laughed. "It was my dragonsbane that downed the beast. You should be thanking me on bended knee for saving your life! Now get out of the way and let me finish this."

"No."

"Come now, girl. I admit, you did well to get here before us. If you let me kill that one, I'll let you join us for the march back to Fuchsia. How's that? Even the Baron will thank you for your contribution to our victory!"

Moon stood unmoving. Staring at him straight in the eyes.

"If you want him, you'll have to kill me first," she said quietly. Sir Filbert narrowed his eyes. One of his knights rode up to him.

"Sir, it'd be bad form to kill her here. Not worth the trouble and rumours," he said quietly. "The king did send her, after all."

Sir Filbert scowled, then thrust his spear at the knight.

"Take him, if you're so hard up for glory," he sneered. Then he turned to his knights.

"Men, we're done! Load up those two into the wagons! Then it's back to Fuchsia! We'll have a grand banquet tonight!" he shouted.

Yelling and cheering, the knights dismounted and swarmed the two dead dragons, roping them securely onto their supply wagons. Then off they rode, without a second glance at Moon or Gladion.

Moon continued staring after them until they left the field. Then she spun round and knelt down beside Gladion.

"Gladion! Gladion, can you hear me? Are you all right?" She examined him anxiously. Thankfully, only a handful of grains of the dragonsbane had landed on him, but the scales on the right side of his neck and across his shoulder had completely melted off, revealing raw, broken skin and charred flesh.

Gladion was breathing heavily, and he looked at her with half opened green eyes, pupils dilated. Slowly, he struggled to stand, and Moon reached out to steady him, careful not to touch his wounds. He was heavy, heavier than anything Moon had ever tried to carry, but she gritted her teeth and dragged him on.

After what felt like several hours, they toppled over the edge and splashed into the deep, swift flowing waters of the Ula River.

\---

Moon fed another log to the fire. All of her clothes were dry by then, but still Gladion did not wake. He lay half submerged on the riverbank where Moon had pulled him, almost completely stationary apart from the slight rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. She had cleaned all of the dragonsbane pollen from him, and rubbed her healing salve over his wounds, including those inflicted by the rogue, but none of her first aid classes had ever mentioned how to care for an injured dragon.

So she sat on a fallen log and waited, hoping, praying that he would live. She still owed him an apology for mistaking him for the rogue. She owed him her thanks for helping her defend Hoku. She owed him her life; if he hadn't interfered, the male rogue would have killed her.

"You can't die here," she said aloud. "Silvally's waiting for you, you know? I'm sure he's worried sick."

She poked the fire idly. "I still can't believe we just flew off like that. I can't believe I just... flew. With you. My teacher always said I was reckless, but I guess I never thought he might be right until now.

"And I've left Deci behind, too. So you really need to wake up, Gladion. I've got to go rescue my horse from babysitting your noisy puppy." Moon gave a faint laugh, which cracked at the end.

"Wake up, Gladion."

"I'm awake."

Startled, Moon snapped around. He had transformed back to his human form, and was struggling to his feet. Moon rushed over, slipping through the gravel on the shore. Slinging his uninjured arm over her shoulder, she half carried him towards the campfire she built. He sat down and leaned back against the log, wincing slightly as his shoulder brushed against the bark.

"How are you feeling? Are you all right?"

"I'll be fine," Gladion replied. "Just that this," he gestured weakly to his burnt neck and shoulder, "will take a while to heal, that's all."

Moon cut off the sleeve of his shirt, careful not to agitate the wound any further, and smeared more of her arnica and aloe salve on. Tearing strips off the bottom of her tunic, she wrapped them around his neck and upper arm.

"There. This will do until we get back to Deci. My healing supplies are all with her," Moon said.

"Why did you save me?" Gladion's voice was soft. "You could have just left me, and gone with them."

Moon closed her salve box and stuffed it back into her waistpouch before answering.

"Why did you help me fight off the second rogue?" she returned. "You could have just left me. In fact, you could have gone back to your cave the moment we found the rogue's scale, when you proved your innocence."

Gladion was silent. She stared into his emerald green eyes, watching the reflection of the flames flickering in them.

"So why _did_ you help me?"

He held her gaze for a long moment, his face pale from exhaustion and cold. Finally, he looked away.

"I guess we're both fools."

Moon smiled.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to my amazing friend Artpharos, for spotting my careless mistakes and for the endless encouragement she gave me ;w;


End file.
